TRAIN operator TransPennine Express has issued a “do not travel” alert for Wednesday as a “system issue” is causing major disruption to services.

The FirstGroup-owned company, which runs trains across northern England and into Scotland, has suffered problems for several months due to staffing issues.

TransPennine Express customer service and operations director Kathryn O’Brien said: “Due to a significant rostering system issue, today we are experiencing a high level of unplanned cancellations and disruption across our network.

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“We know this will have a significant impact on customers travelling with us today and sincerely apologise for any disruption caused.

“We are working hard internally and with our system provider to resolve the situation as soon as possible.

“We are doing all we can to keep customers on the move but while problems persist, we advise customers not to travel and to seek alternative means of transport.”